After using TransTint or Arti Dyes to color wood, you can use Watco Danish Oil to add depth and richness to the color. Apply a coat of Danish oil to your piece, allow it to dry thoroughly for 72 hours, then topcoat with your desired finish. You'll be amazed at how the Danish oil enhances the color.

Big Leigh Jigs News!by Blair Downing

In April I went on a trip out to the rainy Canadian Pacific coast. Leigh Industries invited us out to their factory in Port Coquitlam, British Colombia for a new product announcement. Ken Grisley (CEO and founder), Matt Grisley and Barry Martens showed us the factory, demonstrated some products and told us about new tools on the way, which we are now excited to offer to you.

E-mail us at woodnews@highlandwoodworking.com with your woodworking or finishing questions. Selected questions will be answered in future issues. If your question is selected for publication, we'll send you a free Highland Hardware hat.

Question: I like to sharpen with diamond stones. I find they require little if any maintenance, and I can take them out of the shop without fear of damaging them. The only problem I have is that I can’t get as fine an edge with my diamond stones as I can with my waterstones. Is there any product out there like a diamond stone that will give me a honed edge?

A Nod to the Past or How to Do Your Part to Conserve Electricityby Derreck Bryans

Do you find yourself looking through woodworking magazines or surfing around websites with thoughts of carcass saws, mortise chisels, and bevel-up smoothing planes dancing through your head?

Okay, I admit it. I have a problem. It seems as though this condition is very contagious, yet harmless to your health. Judging by the number of people who are going to wood shows, reading books, and buying hand tool technique videos, I am not the only one.

In 2007, AWFS (Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers) Vegas combines the largest exhibition of woodworking hardware and machinery, board and panel products, upholstery material, wood components, supplies, services and new technologies in North America with unmatched networking opportunities and the finest professional educational conference in the industry. For woodworking professionals from across the country and around the world, this is where it's at.

One of our readers sent us this photo of his son-in-law, who is a Marine stationed in Iraq. The bench and table in this movie/rest area were finished with an unusual finish - motor oil.

WOW! New Prices on Leigh Jigs!

Leigh Industries - the leader in precision, high quality woodworking jigs, has announced new lower prices for their most capable, most popular jigs! These are the best prices we've seen in a long time.

To celebrate Leigh's 25th Anniversary and the launch of their great new products, Highland Woodworking is giving you the opportunity to own a piece of woodworking history! Back in 1981, Leigh Industries introduced the TD514 – the first through dovetail jig with variable spacing. Now we are giving away a vintage TD514 which has been in our warehouse since then, plus a $100 Highland Woodworking Gift Certificate.

Enter for a chance to win the slightly used TD514, the original instructional poster, five bits, template guide adapters and a $100 Highland Woodworking Gift Certificate! The box is a little nagged up but the jig is in great condition.

The Wixey Saw Fence Digital Readout gives you accurate distance readings from either side of your tablesaw's blade & can be mounted on either side of the fence. It displays measurements in metric, standard decimals and fractions large enough to actually see them. It zeros at a touch of a button, so you can calibrate it for different blades or auxiliary fences & jigs. It attaches to a mounting bracket with a rare earth magnet, so you can remove your fence without losing calibration, making it a valuable tool for cut lists and repeat settings for production runs. Accurate to +/- .002 in. per foot. Item# 168503.